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Citizenship

Obtaining Italian Citizenship

For information please write to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it

Italian citizenship is currently regulated by Law no. 91/1992 (and regulations for its implementation: specifically DPR no. 572 of 12 October 1993 and DPR no. 362 of 18 April 1994) which, in contrast with previous laws, reassesses the importance of individual intention in the acquisition or loss of citizenship and recognises the right to hold more than one citizenship simultaneously.

Citizenship legislation applies to:

  • persons born Italian who have lost their citizenship and wish to reinstate it;
  • descendants of Italian citizens claiming citizenship;
  • foreigners applying for Italian citizenship.

Italian citizenship can be acquired in one of the following ways:

1. CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT

Italian citizenship is based upon the principle of “jure sanguinis”. This means that a child who is born to an Italian father or mother, is an Italian citizen.

Citizenship is passed on from parent to child with no limit to the number of generations, on condition that none of the ancestors has ever voluntary naturalized (acquisition of another citizenship) or renounced their Italian citizenship before the birth of the next descendant in line.

Italian citizenship was exclusive until 15th August 1992. The voluntary acquisition of any other citizenship until that date means the automatic loss of the Italian citizenship.

Please note that transmission of citizenship through maternal lineage is possible only for persons born after 1 January 1948 from a mother who held Italian citizenship. Prior to this date, only fathers could transmit the Italian citizenship.

Pursuant to Act no. 89 of 2014, applications for granting the Italian citizenship by descent are subject to a 300 EURO administrative fee, payable in Rands.

How to apply

The Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg is competent for processing citizenship applications for residents in the Provinces of Free State, Gauteng (with the exclusion of the metropolitan area of the city of Tshwane), KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North-West ONLY. A proof of residence is required upon submitting the application.

Any claim for Italian citizenship must be supported by documentary evidence.

Applications must include full documentation in original, as listed below, starting from the ancestor/s born in Italy and ending with the applicant and his/her minor children.

  •  Documentary evidence of the date of arrival of the ancestor in the country of immigration (e.g. passengers’ list of the ship, permit of expatriation issued by the competent Authorities in Italy) and a list of places where the family lived, from the ancestor up to the applicant;
  • Birth/marriage/divorce/death/change of name unabridged certificates of all applicants starting from the ancestor up to the applicant. Documents must be the original ones, and must be translated into Italian (sworn translation to be legalized by the competent Italian Consulate) and duly apostilled;
  • Naturalization or non-naturalization certificate of the ancestor who was born in Italy. Additional naturalization or non-naturalization certificates are required if the direct ascendants lived in a foreign country other than South Africa.
  • Copies of passports and/or IDs of applicant’s ancestors;
  • Citizenship form duly completed and signed;
  • Payment of the 300 EURO administrative fee, to be paid in Rand. Detailed information on the amount and how to pay in Rand the administrative fee will be provided once the appointment has been scheduled.

The complete documentation must be submitted in person to the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg. To book an appointment, please write to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it

The documentation is assessed and reviewed by this Consulate General only after its submission.

The Citizenship Department reserve its right to request additional documentation in order to determine your eligibility to Italian citizenship.

According to the Prime Minister Decree n. 33 of 17 January 2014, the Consulate General must take a decision within 730 days from the date of submission of the application.

2. CITIZENSHIP GRANTED TO PERSONS BORN ON ITALIAN SOIL (“iure soli”)

Italian citizenship is granted to persons born on Italian soil:
– whose parents are unknown, Stateless or cannot pass on their citizenship to their child according to the laws of the State of which they are citizens;
– of unknown parentage found on Italian soil and whose natural citizenship is impossible to ascertain.

3. CITIZENSHIP THROUGH JUDICIARY RULING ON NATURAL PATERNITY / MATERNITY

A child recognized or declared while a minor to be of Italian parentage. Persons of legal age recognised or declared as such must elect to become citizens within one year of that recognition. The following documentation must be annexed to the declaration:

  • Unabridged Birth Certificate;
  • Act of recognition or authenticated copy of the ruling on paternity/maternity, or of an authenticated copy of a ruling that declares a foreign ruling binding in Italy, or an authenticated copy of a ruling acknowledging the right to child support or alimony;
  • Certification of parent(s)’ citizenship.
4. CITIZENSHIP BY ADOPTION

The right to citizenship is extended to any minor child adopted by an Italian citizen by means of the provisions of the Italian Judiciary Authorities, or in the case of adoption abroad and rendered valid in Italy through an order issued by the Juvenile Court for enrolment in an official Italian statistics office (Anagrafe). Adoptees of legal age (18) can acquire citizenship after 5 years of legal residence in Italy after the adoption (see point 3 below).

 

Acquisition by Claim
1. CITIZENSHIP BY MARRIAGE TO AN ITALIAN CITIZEN (Article 5, Law 91/1992)

According to Law n. 132 of December 1, 2018, which entered into force on December 4, 2018, in order to apply for Italian citizenship by marriage, one is requested to provide evidence, inter alia, of his\her language competence in Italian at B1 Level or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

To this extent, the applicant must submit:

  • A diploma issued by a public or equivalent educational Institute
    or
  • A certification issued by an accredited certifying body.

Currently, the accredited certifying bodies legally recognized and included in the unified certification system CLIQ (Certificazione Lingua Italiana di Qualità) are the following:

To obtain such certification in South Africa and to receive a qualified assistance to learn Italian, you can contact the Dante Alighieri Committees located in Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town or the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria.

You can assess free of charge your knowledge of the Italian language by visiting the website
http://www.scuoleditaliano.it/prova-il-tuo-italiano

PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION TO ACQUIRE ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY MARRIAGE

Before submitting the application, it is advisable to read Section 6(2) Act 88 of 1995 of the South African Citizenship Law in order to verify the consequences the acquisition of another citizenship can have on the applicant’s own South African citizenship and for information on how to obtain the letter “Retention of South African citizenship” from the South African Department of Home Affairs.

Please note that from January 18, 2021 the new web Portal “CIVES” is online.

All citizenship applications must be submitted online through the above Portal. Payment of the consular fees on the relevant documents to be submitted with the application must be made in person by the applicant at the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg.

The applicant must register on https://portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it/ to receive his\her personal login details to access the Portal.

Once logged in, the applicant must enter various personal details and upload the following documents:

1. A valid identity document;
2. Unabridged Birth Certificate and Criminal Record Certificate issued by the Country of Origin/Birth and by any other country where the applicant may have lived before moving to South Africa. These documents must first be legalized. The legalization has to be done by means of an Apostille if the issuing country is a signatory member of the Hague Convention of 05.10.1961. If the document is not from a signatory country of the Convention, the legalization must be done by the Embassy or the Consulate responsible for the issuing country. All documents written in foreign languages need to be accompanied by the Italian translation certified by the Embassy\Consulate or legalized by Apostille;
3. “Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio”, issued by the pertinent Municipality in Italy where the marriage is registered;
4. Certification stating the proficiency in the Italian language at B1 Level or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
5. Proof of payment of Euro 250,00 as stated in the Law Decree n. 113 of October 4, 2018 indicating NAME and SURNAME of the applicant.
Payment must be made to Ministero dell’Interno as follows:

“Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza”
Bank name: Poste Italiane S.p.A.
Address: Viale Europa 175 – Roma
IBAN: IT54D0760103200000000809020
Reason for payment: Richiesta cittadinanza per matrimonio
BIC / SWIFT CODE for Poste Italiane: BPPIITRRXX
Euro 250,00

Certificates listed under paragraphs 2 and 3 are considered valid for a maximum period of 6 months from their date of issue.

It is important that all data are entered in a complete and correct manner. Any typing errors or an incomplete application will result in the rejection of the latter.

All details provided in the application (name, surname, date and place of birth) must be exactly the same as those listed on the Unabridged Birth Certificate or change of name/surname certificate. This is in accordance with Circular no. 4623 dated 18/01/2019 of the Italian Ministry of Interior.
The applicant has to make sure that all the documents, in particular the Police Clearance certificate, are issued in her maiden surname.

The Portal “CIVES” will run a preliminary check on the conformity of the inserted data.

In case of discrepancies, you will be required to upload other certificates to resolve the problem, such as for example certificates verifying your personal details, marriage certificates issued by the local authorities, birth certificates with annotations or a Court Order for the change of name or surname.

Complete and correct applications will be electronically notified to the Consulate General which will verify the application and proceed to its validation or rejection.

The Ministry of Interiors will make available to the applicants a dedicated technical assistance channel to assist them during the various stages of their application via the Portal “CIVES”.

Monitoring the status of the application progress has to be done entirely by the applicant who will log in with the same credentials used when registering.

2. FOREIGN DESCENDENTS OF ITALIANS UP TO THE SECOND DEGREE, OR BORN IN ITALY

Foreign or Stateless descendants (up to the second degree) of Italian citizens can claim citizenship.

Requirements include one or more of the following:

  • service in the Italian armed forces;
  • employment by the Italian government, even abroad;
  • residence in Italy for at least 2 years before reaching the legal age of 18.

Claims must be accompanied by the following documentation:

  • Unabridged Birth Certificate;
  • certificate of Italian citizenship of mother or father or a direct ancestor up to the second degree;
  • certificate of residence, where requested.

Foreigners, even those not of Italian descent, born on Italian soil can claim Italian citizenship after continuous legal residence in Italy up to legal age, and upon declaration of their desire to do so.
That declaration, to be presented within one year of reaching the age of 18, must be accompanied by the following documentation:

  • Unabridged birth certificate;
  • certificate of residence.
3. NATURALISATION

Required legal residence in Italy for:

  • 3 years for descendents of former Italian citizens up to the second degree and for foreigners born on Italian soil;
  • 4 years for citizens of a European Union country;
  • 5 years for Stateless persons and refugees, as well as for adult foreigners over the age of 18 adopted by Italian citizens;
  • 7 years for children adopted by Italian citizens before the entry into effect of Law no. 184/1983;
  • 10 years for non-EU citizens.

No period of legal residence is required for foreigners who have been employed in the service of the Italian Republic for a period of at least 5 years, also abroad.

Citizenship applications, addressed to the President of the Republic, must be submitted to the Prefecture of the Province of residence, accompanied by the following documentation:

  • Unabridged Birth Certificate containing all pertinent data or, in the case of the documented impossibility of producing that, an affidavit (duly legalized and translated) issued by the diplomatic-consular authorities of the country of origin stating all exact personal data (first name, second name, surname, date and place of birth), as well as those of the father and mother of the applicant;
  • certificate of history of legal residence in Italy for 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 years as required (with affixed tax stamp);
  • certificate of family status (with affixed tax stamp);
  • criminal record (or certified lack thereof) from country of origin and eventual third countries of residence, duly translated and legalised;
  • certificate of criminal record (or certified lack thereof) in Italy (with affixed tax stamp);
  • certificate of charges pending in Italy (or certified lack thereof) issued by the State Prosecutor’s Office at the court authorised for the area of residence of the applicant (with affixed tax stamp);
  • official declaration of income for tax purposes for the preceding three years (Forms 730, Unico, etc.);
  • declaration renouncing the protection of the Italian diplomatic-consular authorities from the authorities of the country of origin, using the preprinted form available from the Prefecture;
  • waiver in the sole case in which the original citizenship is not automatically lost with the voluntary acquisition of a foreign one (to be presented only upon formal request by the Ministry of the Interior);
  • copy of passport (with attached official translation in Italian, where the document does not contain data, in addition to the original language, also in English or French), authenticated by the diplomatic-consular mission of the State that issued it;
  • certificate of family status (with affixed tax stamp);
  • declaration authorising the competent authorities of the country of origin to release all information regarding the applicant requested by the Italian diplomatic-consular authorities in the country of origin, using the preprinted form available from the prefecture.

Where applications for Italian citizenship cite the more favourable dispositions described in letters a), b) e) of paragraph 1 of Article 9 of Law no. 91/1993 (3 or 5 years of legal residence), they must be accompanied by the following documentation:

  • certificate of Italian citizenship by virtue of the Italian citizenship of one or both parents or grandparents (for applicants requesting application of art. 9 par. 1, letter a));
  • authenticated copy of ruling declares a ruling by a foreign judiciary authority valid in Italy (for applicants requesting application of art. 9 par. 1, letter b));
  • authenticated copy of Italian judiciary ruling recognising Statelessness, or a copy of the ministerial provision declaring Statelessness (for applicants requesting application of Art. 9 par. 1, letter e));
  • certificate of refugee status issued by the National Commission for the Right to Asylum (former Central Commission for the Recognition of Refugee Status pursuant to Art. 2, par. 1 of DPR no. 136 of 15 May 1990) (for applicants requesting the combined application of article 9, par. 1, letter e), and article16, par. 2, of the Law).
4. GRANTING OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP PURSUANT TO SPECIAL LAWS

A. Law n. 379 of 14 December 2000, provides for recognition of Italian citizenship to persons born and formerly resident in the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and their descendants in possession of the following requirements:
– birth and residence of an ancestor in the territories formerly belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and annexed to Italy at the end of the First World War in the Treaty of San Germano;
– emigration abroad of an ancestor between 25 December 1867 and 16 July 1920.

Claims for recognition of Italian citizenship had to be submitted by 20 December 2010 to the Italian diplomatic-consular authorities if the applicant was living abroad, or to the official statistics office (Anagrafe) of the city of residence if living in Italy.
Claims submitted by the deadline are examined by an inter-ministerial commission set up in the Ministry of the Interior, which rules in function of satisfaction of the prescribed legal requirements. If the ruling is favourable the Ministry of the Interior issues clearance for recognition.

B. Law no. 124 of 8 March 2006, provides for recognition of Italian citizenship for Italian nationals resident in Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia from 1940 to 1947, whose property was confiscated and ceded to the Yugoslav Republic by the Treaties of Paris of 10 February 1947 and Osimo of 10 November 1975, and their descendents.
Claims must be submitted to the Italian Diplomatic-consular authorities if the claimant resides abroad, or to the municipal authorities of their Italian city of residence, along with the following documentation.
Persons subject to article 19 of the Paris Peace Treaty, so as to prove the existence of the requirements stated in art. 17 bis, par. 1, lett. a) of Law no. 91/92, must attach the following documentation to their claims:

a) Unabridged Birth Certificate, international, if possible;
b) certificate verifying foreign citizenship;
c) certificate verifying current residence;
d) certificate or other documentation proving residence before 10 June 1940 in the territories ceded to the former Yugoslav Socialist Federal Republic;
e) proof that the claimant was an Italian citizen on 15 September 1947- the date the Paris Peace Treaty took effect – or other equally valid documentation such as certificate of military service, passport, etc.;
f) written confirmation from any Italian clubs, associations or communities located in the foreign country of residence proving claimant’s membership, usual language used and any other element proving his/her knowledge of the Italian language;
g) any other documentation proving the claimant’s knowledge of the Italian language (e.g. copy of certificate of attendance of Italian-speaking schools, report cards, etc. ).

Children or direct descendants of persons subject to art. 19 of the Paris Peace Treaty, intending to avail themselves of art.17-bis, par. 1, lett. b), must attach the following documentation to their claims for recognition of Italian citizenship:

  • certification or other documentation from which it results that claimant’s parent(s) or direct ancestor(s) were in possession of the requirements stated in points d-e-f-g above;
  • Unabridged Birth Certificate confirming the claimant’s relationship with parent(s) or direct ancestor(s);
  • certificate proving claimant’s foreign citizenship;
  • written confirmation from any Italian association or community in the claimant’s foreign country of residence proving the claimant’s knowledge of the Italia language and culture;
  • any other documentation proving the claimant’s knowledge of the Italian language and culture.

Persons subject to the provisions of art. 3 of the Treaty of Osimo, former residents of Area B of the former Free Territory of Trieste, intending to avail themselves of art.17-bis, par. 1 lett. a), must attach the following documentation to the claims for recognition of Italian citizenship:

a) Unabridged Birth Certificate, international, if possible;
b) certificate verifying foreign citizenship;
c) certificate verifying current residence;
d) proof that the claimant was an Italian citizen on 3 April 1977- the date the Osimo Peace Treaty took effect;
e) written confirmation from any Italian clubs, associations or communities located in the foreign country of residence proving claimant’s membership, usual language used and any other element proving his/her knowledge of the Italian language;
f) any documentation proving that the claimant belonged to an ethnic Italian group as specified in art. 3.

Children or direct descendants of persons subject to art.3 of the Osimo Treaty intending to avail themselves of art.17-bis, par. 1, lett. b), must attach the following documentation to their claims for recognition of Italian citizenship:

  • certification or other documentation from which it results that claimant’s parent(s) or direct ancestor(s) were in possession of the requirements stated in points d-e-f- above;
  • Unabridged Birth Certificate confirming the claimant’s relationship with parent(s) or direct ancestor(s);
  • certificate proving foreign citizenship;
  • written confirmation from eventual Italian associations or communities in the claimant’s foreign country of residence proving the claimant’s knowledge of the Italian language and culture;
  • any other documentation proving the claimant’s knowledge of the Italian language and culture.

An inter-ministerial commission set up at the Ministry of the Interior decides whether to issue clearance for recognition of citizenship.

5. DUAL CITIZENSHIP

As from 16 August 1992, Italian citizenship is no longer lost with the acquisition of foreign citizenship unless the Italian citizens formally renounces it, and save international agreements.
The Italian government’s adherence to the 1963 Strasbourg Convention means that, as from 4 June 2010, Italian citizenship is not automatically lost for those Italians who become naturalised citizens of the signatories to that Convention.

 

Loss of Citizenship

An Italian citizen can lose citizenship automatically or formally renounce it.

Automatic loss of citizenship:
  • Any Italian citizen who voluntarily enlists in the armed forces of a foreign government or accepts a government post with a foreign State, despite express prohibition by Italian Law;
  • Any Italian citizen who has served during a state of war with a foreign country, or held a government position or acquired citizenship in that State;
  • Adoptees for which adoption is revoked by fault of their own, on the condition that he/she is in possession of or acquires citizenship in another country.
Formal renunciation of Italian citizenship:
  • Adoptees of legal age following revocation of adoption by fault of their own, as long as they are in possession of or acquire citizenship in another country;
  • Any Italian citizen resident abroad and that is in possession of, acquires or reacquires citizenship in another country;
  • Anyone of legal age who acquired Italian citizenship as a minor following the acquisition or reacquisition of citizenship by one parent, as long as he/she is in possession of citizenship in another country.

A declaration renouncing citizenship is made before an official of the official statistics office (Anagrafe) of the Italian city of residence or, if residing abroad, before an authorised diplomatic-consular official, and must be accompanied by the following documentation:

a) Unabridged Birth Certificate issued by the city of birth and where the birth was registered;
b) certificate of Italian citizenship;
c) documentation of foreign citizenship;
d) documentation of residence abroad, where required.

Minors do NOT lose Italian citizenship if one or both parents lose it or acquire foreign citizenship.

Women married to foreign husbands after January 1st 1948 who automatically acquired foreign citizenship did NOT lose their Italian citizenship.
Since January 1st 1948 woman have not had to lose their Italian citizenship even in cases of their Italian-born husbands becoming naturalised citizens of other countries. Nevertheless, in order to maintain the civil statistic records in order, it is necessary for those women (or their descendents) to manifest their desire to maintain their citizenship to the authorities (municipal or consular).

 

Riacquisition of Citizenship

Italian citizens who have lost their citizenship can reacquire it:

  • Automatically one year from the date in which they established residence on Italian soil, unless they renounce it within that term of time.
  • By specific declaration:
    a) serving in the Italian armed forces;
    b) by being or having been in the employ of the Italian government, even abroad;
    c) if a foreign resident, once legal residence in Italy is established, within one year of the declaration for reacquisition submitted to the Italian consular authorities;
    d) once legal residence in Italy has been established for at least 2 years, and it can be proven that the applicant has left the foreign government employ or military service undertaken despite express prohibition by Italian Law.

Women married to foreigners prior to January 1st 1948, who – by virtue of marriage – automatically acquired their husband’s citizenship, can reacquire Italian citizenship, even though they reside abroad, by means of a declaration.
The declaration for the reacquisition of citizenship must be submitted to an official of the statistics office (Anagrafe) of the city of residence in Italy or, in the case of residence abroad, the local diplomatic-consular authorities.

The declaration must be accompanied by the following documentation:

a) Unabridged Birth Certificate issued by the city of birth and where the birth was registered;
b) documentation proving previous Italian citizenship;
c) documentation proving foreign citizenship or Stateless status;
d) certificate of family status or equivalent.

PLEASE NOTE: With regard to all required documentation, whether for acquisition or renunciation of citizenship, pursuant to article 43, par. 1, 46 and 47 of DPR 445/2000 (as stated in Law no. 183/2011) and the limitations pursuant to art. 3 of the same DPR, Italian public administrations are officially obliged to acquire information, data and documentation already in possession of the Public Administration, pending submission by the party concerned of the elements indispensable to the retrieval of such information or data.
Therefore, applicants (Italian, UE or non-UE citizens legally living in Italy) are not required to produce information or data already in the possession of the Italian Public Administration, but only the elements indispensable to the retrieval of such information or data.

 

Fees

Applications or declarations regarding the election, acquisition, reacquisition, renunciation or granting of Italian citizenship are subject to a fee of 250 euro.
As from 8 July 2014 applications by legal-age adults for recognition of Italian citizenship are subject to a fee of 300 Euro.